June 16th

Deuteronomy 21     Isaiah 48     Psalms 108-109     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

In Psalm 109, David makes his feelings known to God in no uncertain terms. “Wicked and deceitful men” (verse 2) have done him great wrong and he urges God to punish them. Although righteous anger is no bad thing in the short term, it seems that David has allowed his resentment to fester and it is consuming him. As I write, we are considering forgiveness in the “Freedom in Christ” course – in particular forgiving from the heart. What I have learned anew is that forgiveness is an act of will and it has nothing to do with feelings. In contrast with what is consuming David in this Psalm, we must realize that God is the ultimate judge and that he will judge everyone justly. This is a big relief for Christians. Of course we want to see justice be seen to be done now for evil in this world but we can be assured that God is the ultimate judge and will punish those who are evil. In the very last verse of Isaiah 48 we are reminded that “there is no peace for the wicked”.

(written by member of a homegroup)